Combination-legging.



J. ASCHEIM.

COMBINATION LEGGING.

APPLICATION men JULY 25.19xa.

\ 286,198. Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 77 mmvmi;

ATTORNEYS J. ASCHEIM.

COMBINATION LEGGING. APPLICATION FILED iuLY 25.1915.

1,286,198, Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- k/ INVNTOR 1;

9. 15 1 (2 gay/M 4 A TTORNEYS J'ULES ASCHEIM, 0F CEDARHURST, NEW YORK.

COMBINATION-LEGGING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Original application filed March 28, 1918, Serial No. 225,142. Dividedand this application filed July 25, 1918. Serial No. 246,696.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, J ULES ASGHEIM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cedarhurst, Long Island, in the county of Nassau and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCombination-Leggings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to combination leggings having an interiorresilient foundation which always tends by reason of its resilience toassume a definite and predetermined normal shape, and a face portionwhich is combined with the said foundation so as to present a smooth andunwrinkled appearance, the connecting means being such, that thiscombination legging can be freely bent without any wrinkles being formedin the said face portion and without any separation of the foundationand the face portion.

More particularly, my invention is directed to making a combinationlegging having a foundation consisting of a flexible split leather whichhas been shaped into a definite and predetermined form, namely thecorrect and perfect outline of the human leg, and which has sufficientresiliency to always tend to assume this predetermined form, and a facefabric of canvas or similar stretchable fabric which is combined withthe leather so as to prevent the formation of wrinkles in the saidcanvas at any time. A leather merely consists of animal fibers, it isobvious that a number of other materials composed of connected fibershaving equivalent properties could be substituted therefor.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed in the followingdescription and drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing how my improved legging is puton,

Fig. 2 is a front view of my improved legging showing the sameunfastened,

Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2 and shows a legging fastened,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing how the leather foundation isshaped,

Fig. 5 is a front view showing the connection of a different form offastener,

Fig. 6 is a front view showing the legging fastened,

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section, somewhat enlarged, of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a section along the line {I of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 9 is a detail showing the connection of one of the complementaryfastening A piece of leather 1 which has been cut substantially into theshape illustrated in Fig. 4 is immersed in water for about thirtyminutes at ordinary room temperature, that is between and 70 degrees F.This period of immersion may vary for the difierent kinds of leather,but thirty minutes is the average time for a piece of rough unfinishedleather, whose pores have not been filled up and which may be of acheaper grade or variety than the ones used for making leather leggingsor puttees composed of leather alone. v

As a result of this immersion, the pores of the leather take up thewater, and it becomes very soft and pliable. It is now stretched intothe final shape Which is desired, and which should be such so as to fitthe leg of the wearer, of which the wooden mold or form 2 is aduplicate.

The leather is well stretched to make it assume its final andpredetermined normal shape, and is then secured around the form 2 in itsmoist and stretched condition by means of a number of tacks 3. The form2 with the leather 1 fastened as before described, is now dried by meansof a current of Warm air having a temperature of substantially 85degrees F.

It is undesirable to dry the leather too quickly as the suddengeneration of vapor, if too violent, will enlarge the pores of theleather too much for the purposes of the treatment later to bedescribed. 011 the other hand, it is desirable to enlarge the pores ofthe leather to a certain extent so as to fit it for the said treatment.The said temperature of 85 degrees F. is generally satisfactory and as aresult of this drying treatment the pores of the leather aresubstantially enlarged so that they are readily visible with amagnifying glass of low power such as an ordinary reading glass. Thesurface of the leather also becomes roughened by this treatment andpresents a number of minute projections and depressions.

After the leather has been thoroughly dried, it is now ready for thenext treatment and if the surface is not sufficiently rough, which canbe determined by running the tips of the fingers over it, sand paper maybe used to give the surface of the leather the desired roughness.

The effect of soaking, stretching and dry- 7 the form 2, in dried andstretched condition,

its outer side or surface is completely covered with a cement whichpreferably is a viscous rubber cement dissolved in benzin. This cementshould be so viscous that if a pencil or the like be drawn across itssurface a noticeable line is formed which remains apparent for severalminutes.

At the same time a piece of canvas 4, which has been cut into the shapeshownin Fig 4, has the inner surface thereof also covered with thiscement. The film of cc ment on the leather foundation and the canvasface should be as thin as possible, for the purposes later described.

The canvas is-so out that it is stretchable along the line at rightangles to the axis of the form 2 and of the legging, and is" alsostretchable in the perpendicular direction.

The leather 1 is kept upon the form 2 at a temperature of between 60 anddegrees F. until the cement is dried out so'that it has the propertiesof a somewhat plastic solid so that it requires a perceptible pressureof the finger to cause it to change its shape. The canvas covered withcement as before described is also subjected to the same treatment.

As the cement has not been forced up to i the present time into thepores of either the leather or of the canvas, it forms a layer upontheir surfaces of' a somewhat irregular exterior.

The canvas is now placedsymmetrically over the leather upon the form andis strongly pressed thereon, the aforesaid lay ers of cement being ofcourse in contact.

The cementing is performed by means of a small tool like a knife havinga blunt, rounded edge, so that the pressure of the hand produces aconsiderable pressure per square inch and the leather foundation and thecanvas facing are first pressed together along their median lines, thatis on the line opposite to the tacks 3. Then the operator presses a partof the canvas adjacent this median line onto the leather by means of thetool, and strongly stretches the canvas in a direction at right anglesto the axis of the legging, and while the canvas is held in thisstretched condition, he forces it against the leather with the said toolso that the leather and canvas are cemented a short distance on one halfof-the fabric,'

and then for a short distance on, the other half. The small tool is alsorubbed on the canvas in a direction parallel to the axis of the leggingso as to uniformly cement the canvas to the legging without theformation of any wrinkles. The fabric may thus be also stretched in adirection parallel to the axis of the legging, either by the hand or bythis tool.

By the simultaneous rubbing and pressing, the canvas is uniformlystretched, and the cement is so hard that it is forced by thepressureinto the pores and inequalities of the leather and into the pores of thefabric so that the tension of the canvas is maintained because thecement does not al-f low it to spring back into its untensed andunstretched condition.

The pressure may be so powerful as to force the canvas substantiallyinto contact with-the little projections on the roughened surface of theleather, the cement being driven into the canvas, and into the littleholes on the surface of the leather as well as into the pores of theleather.

After this is done, the canvas is folded around the leather and isstitched along the lines 5 and 6 as shown in Fig. 2, after be ingcemented at the folds.

It is desirable to cement a piece of nonstretchable tape 7 to the top ofthe leather before the canvas is applied as this assists in maintainingthe leather foundation in its predetermined shape, where the wear andtear are particularly severe.

Of course, the legging is removed from the form before the stitchingtakes place and the fact that the cement exists in the before mentionednon-flowing condition before the joining takes place is shown by thefact that substantially no cement is squeezed over the margin of theleather.

Sincethe canvas has been stretched and simultaneously cemented to theresilient leather, which is sufficiently stiff to have a permanent shapelike an ordinary leather legging or puttee, the combination legging canbe freely bent and manipulated withoutany wrinkles being formed, andwithout any separation of the canvas and the leather, and it alwayssprings back to the desired form. This is highly important as a smoothunwrinkled surface is absolutely necessary to give the legging a neatappearance and be.- cause the treatment with the rubber cement beforementioned makes the combination legging waterproof, and the fact thatthe canvas facing always contacts with the leather foundation withoutany wrinkles, prevents the rubber cement from being chipped off by ablow or the like. The stretching of the canvas is particularlydesirable, although not always necessary, because this tends to make italways cling closely to the leather.

To fasten the legging, an ordinary strap 9 may be applied which is sewedon at 10 and can be passed on the inside of the legging through slots 11and 12 and finally be secured to the buckle 14, as shown in Figs. 2 and3.

Another form of fastening is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A spring 15 issecured upon the outside of the legging by means of rivets 17, a point18 being caused to project on the inside through a slot 19 and a strip20 pasted over the outside of the spring to cover it.

A strip 21 of leather may also be pasted on to the bottom of the insideof the legging so as to prevent it from contracting and to protect thefabric. This is accomplished by causing the leather 21 to projectdownwardly sufficiently.

The point 18 fits into a socket 191 having a plate 120 so that the point18 does not rub on the fabric and spoil it. I It is desirable to quicklystitch the fabric and leather together after the cementing in order toprevent the cement from slowly yielding, and thus allow the fabric tolose its tension.

What I claim is 1. A combination legging comprising a fabric facing anda foundation of relatively stiff and resilient material, the material ofsaid foundation being sufficiently stiff and resilient to always tend toassume a predetermined normal shape, similar to that of the leg of thewearer, the said facing being unwrinkled and being cemented to saidfoundation throughout substantially its entire surface of contact withthe front of said foundation, and being so yieldable that it partakes ofthe bending movements of said facing without becoming separatedtherefrom and without becoming wrinkled.

2. A combination legging comprising a stretchable fabric facing and afoundation of relatively stiff and resilient material, the material ofsaid foundation being sufficiently stiff and resilient to always tend toassume a predetermined normal shape similar to the leg of the wearer,the said fabrlc being stretched and cemented in a tensed and unwrinkledcondition to said foundation throughout substantially its entire surfaceof contact with the front of said foundation, and being sufiicientlystretched so that it partakes of the bending movements of saidfoundation without becoming separated therefrom and without becomingwrinkled.

3. A combination legging comprising a fabric facing and a foundation ofrelatively stiff and resilient leather having a porous and rough frontsurface, the said leather being so stiff and resilient that it alwaystends to assume a predetermined shape similar to that of the leg of thewearer, the said fabric being unwrinkled and being connectedsubstantially throughout its entire surface of contact with the front ofsaid leather by a cement which has partially penetrated the adjacentfaces of said leather and facing, the said fabric being so yieldablethat it partakes of the bending movements of said fac-. ing withoutbecoming separated therefrom and without becoming wrinkled.

4. A combination legging comprising a stretchable fabric facing and afoundation of relatively stifi' and resilient leather having a porousand rough front surface, the said leather being so stiff and resilientthat it always tends to assume a predetermined shape similar to that ofthe leg of the wearer, the said fabric being stretched and cemented in atensed and unwrinkled condition to said foundation by a cement which issufficiently strong to maintain the fabric in said stretched conditionand which has penetrated the adjacent faces of the said fabric andleather, the said fabric being sufiiciently stretched so that itpartakes of the bending movement of said foundation without becomingseparated therefrom.

5. In a combination legging, the combination of a fabric facing and afoundation of relatively stiff and resilient material that always tendsto assume a predetermined normal shape similar to that of the leg of thewearer, the said fabric being connected to the said foundation in astretched condition by a cement sufficiently strong to maintain it insaid stretched condition.

6. In a combination legging, the combination of a stretchable fabricfacing and a foundation of relatively stiff and resilient material thatalways tends to assume a predetermined normal shape similar to that ofthe leg of the wearer, the said fabric being stretched over the saidfoundation in an un wrinkled condition, and means for maintaining thesaid fabric in its tensed and unwrinkled condition.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

J ULES ASCHEIM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, 15.0.

